W okowach etniczności? Wybrane partie etnoregionalne w Serbii i Chorwacji (1990–2012)

Abstract

In the grip of ethnicity? The functioning of selected ethnoregionalist parties in Serbia and Croatia In the last twenty years we have been able to observe an increase in the significance of regional and ethnic identities (“reethnification”), and a resultant proliferation of ethnoregional and regional groupings. But although ethnoregionalist parties (ERP) are widespread in both Western and Central and Eastern Europe, there remains surprisingly little literature differentiating between the various kinds of ethnoregionalist parties and dealing with the lack of common definition of this kind of political actors. Some scholars even propose using a broader term – ethnic party. Moreover, over the years many scholars have believed (and some continue to) that their emergence in multicultural societies conjures up the politicisation of ethnic division and – practically inevitably – leads to “ethnic outbidding”, threatening to the stability of democracy. In the first part of the paper, the author deals with the conceptualisation of ethnoregionalist parties, examining the diversifications of their demands and strategies and showing that to gain voters they can invoke a much broader repertoire of strategies than the ethnic outbidding model suggested. The second part of the article is devoted to the problem of operation of selected ERPs in Serbia and Croatia. The analysis covers Hungarian parties in Serbia and Serbian ones in Croatia. In the concluding remarks, the author tries to point out the main reasons for the changes in their strategy (as well as demands) over time. W okowach etniczności? Wybrane partie etnoregionalne w Serbii i Chorwacji (1990–2012) Na przestrzeni ostatnich dwoch dekad mozemy obserwowac wyraźny wzrost znaczenia regionalnych i etnicznych tozsamości, prowadzący do powstawania coraz wiekszej liczby ugrupowan etnoregionalnych i regionalnych. Mimo to – podobnie jak w przypadku wielu innych, istotnych i aktualnych wspolcześnie zjawisk spolecznych – zdania badaczy w kwestii przyczyn reetnicyzacji systemow partyjnych, funkcjonowania partii etnoregionalnych, ich typow czy relacji z demokracją pozostają podzielone. Celem artykulu jest przyblizenie toczącej sie w tym zakresie dyskusji oraz zaprezentowanie na jej tle wstepnych wynikow badan dotyczących funkcjonowania wybranych ugrupowan etnoregionalnych w Serbii i Chorwacji. Normal 0 21